[ExI] The Tragedy of the 'Unmanaged' Commons

[BillK]

The discussion between John and Spike really revolves around the
famous Tragedy of the Commons. Spike has managed to give John the
impression that he believes that anything is allowed if there is a
profit to be made.
Depletion of resources. pollution, sickness, overfishing, etc. Just
offload the external costs onto somebody else or pay the fines as a
cost of doing business and bank the huge profits.

See <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons>

John, on the other hand, is emphasising that 'commons' must be
controlled and managed for the benefit of all humanity, not just the
'for-profit' exploiters of the resource.

This is an ongoing discussion as the human population grows and needs
access to more resources. In the past, starvation, disease or wars have
been used to reduce populations to meet available resources.
We should be able to find better alternatives.

BillK